Garment locking or antitheft device



July 27, 1943. s, s. VINEBERG 2,325,349

GARMENT LOCKING OR ANTI-THEFT DEVICE Filed July 10, 194.

INYENTOR ATTO R N EYS Patented July 27, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT." :oFic f.

7 2,325,349 GARMENT LOCKING or. ANTiITHEFT nnvlcr. s me-e1 s.vinebergninr o, N. Y. Application July 10, 1941, Serial bio-401,773

13 Claims.

This invention relates to a garment looking or anti-theft deviceintended to be locked onto garments or otherarticles so as to prevent ordiscourage the theft thereof, as by indicating by its attachment to thegarment or article that the use or possession ofthe-article isunauthorized.

The objects of the invention are to provide a handy and desirable devicewhich is-adapted to:

be carried by the, owner and to be locked on an article, or to be used.to lock two articles, such as a hat and coat, together whereby thedevice can be removed therefrom only by the owner or person having thekey or information necessary to unlock the device; to make the device ofsmall and attractive form andappearanceadapting it to be worn as'a-charmor pendant on the person of the owner; to provide a device of thecharacter mentioned comprising clamping or fastening means for securelyattaching it to garments or other articles, and a combinationlock forthe clamping or fastening means which prevents the detachment of thedevice from the article except by a person knowing the lockcombination'; to

provide the device with a combination lock of simple construction whichcanbe readily set by the owner to a particular combination known only tohimself; and to provide the device with clamps orfasteners forattachmentto two different articles, and actuating mechanism whichoperates theclamps or fasteners with an equalizing action, whereby theymay be securely fastened to articles which may diifer'in form, thicknessor kind.

Further objects and advantages of thefinventionwill appear from thefollowing specification of the different embodiments of the invention,shown in the;accompanyingdrawing, and the novel features ofthe inventionare set forth in the appended claims.-. i I In said drawing: a

Fig. 1 is a perspective view, on'a reduced scale, showingthe use of thedevice for securing together a hat and coat.; a

Fig. 2is a front elevation somewhat enlarged, of the device,illustrating how the same can be usedv for holding a hat or othergarment on a garment hook. c a

Fig. 3 is a rear-elevation ofthe device.

Figs. land, 5, arelongitudinal, sectional plans on a still largerscale-on lines 4 4 and '5-5, re-

spectively,Fig.3. y 1 ,1

Fig-6 is a transverse, sectional elevation thereof on line 66, Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is an inverted, sectional elevation there' of on line l 1, Fig.6.7 c

Figs. 8 and 9 are respectively an elevation and a sectional plan ofmeans of modified construction for actuating the clamps or fasteners ofthe device. L

Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively'an elevation and a sectional ,plan ofanother modification of theclamp actuating means.., 1 l

Fig. 12 is a sectionalview of still another modification of theactuating means.

The devicecomprises a body or casing l 5,-pref-, erably of small,rectangular and relatively thin shape, which may be composed of frontand back sections liand ll'having marginal fiangesior walls-suitablysecured together with their marginal flanges abutting edge-to edge toform the hoilow casing.- g x Mounted on the casing, for instance on itsrear side, are clamping or fastening means, preferably comprising twoclamp elements I8 and l9,-one suitably hinged at 23 at one end of thecasing and the other hinged at 2| at the opposite end of, the casing.Each of these clamp elements is adapted to be actuated to'clamp or gripan ar-' ticle, as for instance, the collar of a coat or" the brim of ahat, between the free end of the ele-, ment and an opposed jaw or parton the casing. Preferablyan opening 22 is provided in the back wall ofthe casing opposite the free end of each clamp element, which end 23 isoffset or protrudes toward the opening so that when the clamp element isforcibly closed, the portion of an article gripped between said end andthe, jaw formed by the opposed part of the casing will be more or lesswedged into the opening 22 and securely gripped'and held. An'opening 24may also, bemade in the innersideof the end of the clamp element for alike reason. The clampelements are shown as being'made of channel formin cross'section so that they will be strong and rigid, notwithstanding.that they may be small andoflightweight. .i

- Theclamp elements are operated for forcibly moving their free endstoward the casing for. tightly gripping the article, by actuatingmechanism which, in the construction'shown in Figs. 4-7, comprises twolinks 25 whichi'are' pivotally connected at their adjacent endsto theclamp elements l8 and 19 and to each other; and at their other ordistantends arelpivoted to two nuts 23 engaging oppositely threadedportions of a rotatable screw shaft 21; This shaft is suitablyjournalled in bearings 28at the opposite ends of the casing and has oneendextending out'of the casing and provided with a knob or part zfi -forturning the shaft; By turning the shaft in one direction, the links arecollapsed and the clamp elements are opened or moved away from thecasing, and by turning the shaft in the opposite direction, the linksare spread apart and the clamp elements drawn forcibly toward thecasing. ,The links 25 shown are of channel shape in cross section tomake them stiff and strong, and the pivot 30 which connects the adjacentends of the links together and to the two clamp elements preferably fitsloosely or has some play in its bearing holes in the links and in theclamp elements. This gives an equalizing action of the clamp elements,whereby they may move more or less differentially and will act properlyif the device is applied to onlylone article, or if the articles beinggripped by the or points 44 adapted to enter the holes 22 in the backwall of the casing opposite the free ends of the clamp elements. Thesespring plates 43 have cam portions 45 between their attached and freeends which are engaged and moved by the nuts in the last portion of theclamp-closing movement of the nuts, to project the toothed ends of thejaws into or more or less through the openings 22. When the jaws arethus projected and the articles. gripped bythe clamps, the fine teeth orpoints onjaws will engage or penetrate the material of the garments orarticles so that the latter cannot be pulled out of the closed clampswithout tearing or mutilating the articles.

two clamps are of different thicknesses, the

clamps will nevertheless grip: the articles with substantially equalpressure and securely hold both.

The links extend through a. slot 3 r in the back wall of. the casing andare so positioned relatively thereto that when they have drawn the freeends of the clamp elements nearly to the limit of their inward:movement, the links will: engage the opposfte end edges of the opening3| and continued closing movement of the shaft and nuts will cause thelinks to fulcrum: on said. edges of the slot and to be thereby crammedor levered inwardly or toward the screw shaft, which will increase theclosing pressmreen the clamp elements,

The means for actuating the links 25 to opcrate the clamps could be ofother construction the: scope of my invention. For instance, as shown inFig. 12, separate alinedscrew shafts 21c screw threads for the nuts 26*of like direction and arranged to berotated in: opposite directions byinterconnecting gearing, such as a crown gear pinion 32 meshing withpinions 33' on the adjacent ends of the shafts", could be employed. Theadjacentends of the shafts may be journallect in bearmg holes in theaxle block for the crown gears When one shaft 21a is retated, as by theknob on" its other end,the other shaft willbe oppositely rotated, sothat the nuts will be moved toward-Lei from: each other, as in theconstruction first described.

Fight and 9 show another modification of the link actuating means whichcomprises a'rotatable operating shaft 34 carrying a pinion 35 whichmesheswith toothed; racks 35 arranged to mesh with the pinion at itsopposite. sides; The two racks are pivotaliy connected tothe distantends of the: links 25 and operate byturning theshait l in one'or theother direction to spread or collapse the links, a .7

Still another rn'odificaiti'o'n of the actuating mechanism is shown in"FiS;- 10- and: 11, comprising a crown. gear 37' which is geared to therotatable operating shaft 38 and 'i-s provided with oppositely disposedcam: slots 39 in which engage studs on. two blocks 48 arranged to movetoward and from each! other in. guideslots 4i in a stationary' plate:420x11 which the crown gear is iournailed The slide blocks is are:pivoted to the distant endsof the links 25 and rotation of the operatingshaft and: crown wheel in one or the other dir'ectiomacts to spread orcollapsev the links.

Preferablmto'oth'ed jaws 43' cooperate with the clamp-elements l8,,IS-toi grip the articles. These jaws, as shown, are formed by springmetal plates riveted. to the inside; of the back wall of the easin: andhaving out-bent ends: with sharp teeth The jaw teeth are"- deflectedinwardly or rearwardly, and when they are projected, barely protrudebeyond the outer face of the back wall of the case, so that unless it isattempted to forcibly pull the articles out of the clamps Withoutopening the clamps, the teeth will not penetrate the material of thearticles sufficiently to mar or disfigure them, but an attempt topull anarticle from a closed clamp will cause the teeth to sink further intothe material and take a firm hold thereon. When the clamps are openedand the nuts disengaged from the cams on the jaws, the latter areretracted by their own resilience, so

that the teeth will not engage articleswhen at- The device is equippedwith locking means by which. the clampscanv be locked in their closed orholding position so that they cannot be released except by a prescribedunlocking action of the lock; Preferably a combination lock is providedfor this purpose, which may be constructed as follows: a

it represents combination wheels rotatably mounted; in the casing.--Preferably there are four of these wheels arranged pairs at oppositesides of the. operating shaft 21. Each wheel is provided with aperipheral notch 41, and the shaft 2? is-provide'd with projecting crosspins orstuds 48 between eachpair of wheels. If the wheels are turnedtothe position shown in Fig. 7,. in which the notches of each pair ofwheels face: each.other in" the plane of rotation of the related crossp'm the-latter can enter the notches and; thus permit the rotation ofthe operating shaft, whereas if any one of the wheels is in a position:with its notchout of registration with the related cross pingthe' pinwill strike the wheel and thus prevent rotation of the shaft; Thus, allof the wheels haveto be set to a predeterminedydefinite positiontopermit rotation of the shaft for releasing the clamps As shown, thewheels are fixed to or formed with rivets or axles 49 whiohbear andareadapted to'rotate in holes in the front and back walls of the casing,each rivet having heads to retain the wheels in place; One head-5Eoneach rivetis provided with a pointer cooperating with 'dial numbers,letters or the 'like 5! surrounding the head on the front face of thecasing. These pointer heads are intended to be securedon the severalwheel rivets in difierentangular' relations towheel notches lli, so thateach pointer must be" turn-ed to a particular dial number to place thecombination wheels in position to permit'rotat'ion of the operatingshaft.

Inorder. to enable the owner to set the mechanism to a combination knownonlyto himself,

the pointer heads 50 are left loose on the wheel rivets when the deviceis assembled; or before his sold to the purchaser, and after purchase,the owner can set the pointer heads relatively to the wheels to any dialnumbers which hemay wish, while the combination wheels are held in theunlocking position shown in Fig. 7. If the pointer heads are th n fixedon the wheel rivets in thesepositions, and the' Combination wheels areturned by means of the pointer headsout of registering -or' unlockingposition, the operating shaft cannot be-turned until the wheels areagainreturned to the unlocking position indicated by the registration ofthe pointers with the selected dial members. A; convenient way-ofenabling the pointer heads to-be fixed in the positions desired by theuseryis to make the'heads so that they can be secured by a driving fiton the rivets. Thepointer heads being initially loose on the rivets'inthedevice as assembled, the owner can turn them onthe rivets to thepositions necessary for the selected combination and then fix the headsthereon simply by driving or =riveting the heads tightly on therivets'b'y striking with a hammer. Spring friction washers 52 are shownsurrounding the rivets 49 between the faces of the combinationwheels'and the opposite walls of the casing for the purpose of offeringsufficient resistance to the turning of the wheels to preventunintentional rotation thereof.

In order'to retain the combination wheels'in the registering orunlocking position shown in Fig. 7 until the owner adjusts the pointerheads to the desired combination, as explained, a cotter pin 53 maybe'inserted into a transverse hole in the operating shaft 21 throughregistering holes 54 in the casing; The hole in the shaft is so disposedthat when the cotter pin is inserted therein, it will hold the shaftwith its cross pins 4! in 'thenotches of the combination wheels, to thustemporarily secure the parts in the unlock ing position. i This pin thusholds the parts stationary inpo'sition for setting the pointer heads tothe desired combination on the combination .wheelsand, after the pointerheads have been set, the cotter pin is "removed so as to free the partsand permit the normal operation of the locking mechanism.

The device, which is made of small size, pref erably smaller than shownin Fig. 2, and of ornamental design, adapting it to be convenientlycarried or worn on the person, may be' provided with a suspension chainand conventional split or snap ring 55 enabling the device to be securedin a buttonhole or other part of the owners apparel and worn by him as apendant or locket. The snap ring is preferably large enough to adapt itto be engaged over the usual garment hook, sothat the device can beclamped on a hat, for instance, and hung on the hook by means of thesnap ring, and thus lessen the possibility of the hat being accidentallyknocked down and soiled. The device can be used in various ways toprotect-garments or articles from theft. example, it can be clamped andlocked to a hat and coat to lock the two together, as illustrated inFig. 1, thus preventing their normal use unless the device is unlockedand detached from the garments. Or it can be locked on a single hat, orother garment or article, and since it cannot be detached withoutmutilating the article, ex-

combination, it will serves to show, by. the fact For of itsconspicuous-presence on the article; that the use of the articleisunauthorized.

I claim as my invention:

- 1. A'device for the purpose described comprising a casing, a clampelement movably mounted on and cooperating therewith to grip and hold anarticle between the casing and said clamp element, an operating memberfor the clamp element arranged in said casing and having an exposedportion for operating it, said operating member being movable relativelyto and operativelyconnected with saidclamp element for forcibly movingthe latter to grip the article, and means for locking said operatingmember from releasing movement-comprising a rotatable lock elementhidden in said casing adjacent said operating member," said member andlock element having interengageable parts which engage and lock saidoperating member from movement except when said element is moved to apredetermined unlocking positionya part at the exterior of said casingand connected to said lock element for moving it, and means'cooperating' with s'aid part to indicate when said lock element is insaid unlocking position.

2. A device'f'o'r the purpose described comprising a body, a clampelement mounted on said body for movement toward and from the same, andoperating mechanism ior said clamp element comprising links pivotallyconnected to said element, a rotatable operating shaft, and meansoperatively connecting said shaft to said links for spreading and"collapsing said links to move said clamp element toward and from saidbody.

3. A device for the purpose described comprising a body, a clamp elementmounted on said body for movement toward and from the same, andoperating mechanism forsaid clamp element comprising parts movabletoward and from each other, a rotatable shaft operatively connected tosaid parts for moving them toward and from each other by oppositerotations of said shaft, and oppositelyextending links pivotallyconnected at their distantends to said parts and at their adjacentendsto said clamp element.-

4. A devicefor the purpose described compris ing a body, aclamp elementmountedon said body 'for'movement toward and from the'same, andoperating mechanism for said'clamp element comprising oppositelyextending'links pivoted at their adjacent ends to said clamp element, anoperating member connected to the distant ends of said links forspreading and collapsing said links. to move said c1amp-element towardand from said body, and fixed parts on said body on which the links bearand ride when spreading the links for levering said clamp element towardsaid body.

5. A device of the character described comprising a body, aclamp membermounted on said body for movement toward and from the same, a rotatableshaft having oppositely arranged screw threads, nuts engaging saidthreads so as to be moved toward and from each other by rotating saidshaft in opposite directions, and oppositely extending links connectedat their distant ends to said nuts and at their adjacent ends to saidclamp member.

6. A device of the character described comprising a body, a clamp membermounted on said body for movement toward and from the same, actuatingmeans for said clamp member mounted on said body, said body having a.hole opposite the clamping end of said clamp member, and a jaw in saidbody having pointed teeth arranged to project into saidhole forcooperating with said clamp member to hold said article, i 7. A deviceof the character described comprising a body, a clamp member mounted onsaid body for movement toward and from the same, actuating meansfor saidclamp member mounted on saidbody, said body having a hole opposite theclamping end of, said clamp member, and a jaw in said body havingpointed teeth located opposite said hole, and means whereby saidoperating mechanism acts to project said teeth into said hole forcooperation with said clamp member to hold said article. 8. A device forthe purpose describedcomprising a body, clamp members mounted on saidbody for movement toward and from the body, oppositely extending linkspivotally connected to each other at their adjacent ends, an operatingInemberoperatively connected to the distant endsof links for spreadingand collapsing said links, and an equalizing connection between thepivoted adjacent ends. of the links and said clamp members.

9.. A device for the purpose described comprising a body, clamp members,one-hinged to each n of the opposite ends of said body and arranged sideby side, oppositely extending links pivotally connected at theiradjacent ends, and an operating member operatively connected to the distant ends of said links for spreading and colment, an operating memberfor said clamp ole-V V ment arranged in the casing parallel with theopposite broad side walls of the casing and having an exposed portionfor operating it, and

means for locking said operating member and a clamp element frommovement comprising a'rotatable lock wheel located inthe casing flatwisebetween the opposite broad side walls of the easing at one side of saidoperating member, said operating member and. lock wheel having partswhich engage and lock said member from movement except whensaid wheelis: turned to a predetermined unlocking position, a part at theexteriorof said casingand connected to said lock wheel for turning it,and; m ans cooperating with said part'to indicate when said lock wheelis in said unlocking position! 1 t l1. A device for the purposedescribed comprising a casing of, relatively elongated broad shallowshape, a clamp element movably mounted on and extending lengthwise ofsaid casing and cooperating therewith to grip and hold an articlebetween the casing and said clamp element, a rotatable shaft extendinglengthwise in said casing andhaving one end exposed at one end of thecasing for turning the shaft, clamp-actuating connections between saidshaft and said clamp element, and means for locking said shaft and clampelement from article-releasing movement comprising a rotatable lockwheel located in the casing flatwise between the opposite broad sidewalls of the casing at one side of said shaft, said shaft and lock wheelhaving parts which engage and lock said shaft from rotation except whensaid wheel is turned to a predetermined unlocking position, a part atthe exterior of said casing and connected to said lock wheel for turningit, and means cooperating with said part to indicate when said lockwheel is in said unlocking position 12. A device for the purposedescribed comprising a casing of relatively elongated broad shallowshape, a clamp element movably mounted on and extending lengthwise ofsaid casing and cooperating therewith to grip and hold an articlebetween the casing and said clamprelement, a rotatable shaft extendinglengthwise in said casing and having one end exposed at one end of thecasing for turning the shaft, clamp-actuating connections between saidshaft and said clamp element, and means for locking said shaft and clampelement from article-releasing'movement comprising rotatable lock wheelslocated in the casing at opposite sides of said shaft, said shaft andlock wheels having parts which en age and lock said shaft from rotationexcept when said wheels are turned to predetermined unlocking positions,parts at the-exterior of the casing and connected to said wheels forturning them, and means cooperating with said parts to indicate whensaid wheels are in said unlocking positions.

' articles.

l3. A device for the purpose described comprising a body, plural clampmembers movably mounted on said body and each arranged to cooperate withthe body to separately grip and hold a different article between itselfand the body, a common operating member for said plural clamp members,and means operatively connecting said operating member to said clampmembers and including an equalizing connection, whereby said clampmembers are actuated with an equalizing action in gripping the differentSAMUEL S. VINEBERG.

